National real estate service ranks Portage 4th in Top 10 of best Michigan cities

PORTAGE, MI – A national real estate brokerage service has ranked Portage one of the best cities in Michigan to live.

Movoto uses a photo similar to this on its blog listing Portage fourth in its Top 10 best cities to live in Michigan.Tom Haroldson/Special to the Kalamazoo Gazette

Movoto listed Portage fourth in its Top10 of cities with best amenities, cost of living, crime, education, employment and home value. The city of Midland is first, followed by Novi and Canton.

“We are honored and proud to be ranked one of the best cities in Michigan,” said Portage Mayor Pete Strazdas in announcing the Movoto honor.

“Long-term planning and staying focused on the important things that make-up a high quality of life in our community is paying off for our citizens and being recognized by others. We have more work to do as we improve our city and region.”

Randy Nelson, content editor of the Movoto Real Estate blog, said “We’ve been ranking cities across the country, and even those within single states, in a lot of different ways for a while now. Now we’re going state-by-state answering the question of which city within their borders is actually the best based on the data.”

Chiding the Kalamazoo area’s “fascination with the word ‘zoo,’” including mention of the Air Zoo, the Movoto ranking reports Portage is “highly ranked for amenities, education and home value. For that last one, your housing is valued at 15 percent above the state average -- your median income is also solid at $55,936, which is 1 percent above the state average.”

But the ranking also comes with a criticism.

“If there’s one area you could work on, it’d be crime; your crime rate is 34 percent higher than Michigan’s average. Are those sirens we hear?”

The criteria used include amenities (shopping, dining, entertainment), cost of living (percent above or below state average), crime (percent above or below state average), education (student to teacher ratio compared to state average) employment (income and unemployment compared to state average) and home value (percent above or below state average).

The list:

1. Midland

2. Novi

3. Canton

4. Portage

5. Ann Arbor

6. Grand Blanc

7. Royal Oak

8. East Lansing

9. Farmington Hills

10. West Bloomfield

For more information, go to www.movoto.com/blog/top-ten/t10-best-cities-in-michigan/